Dispensing machines



Dec. 9, 1958 H. SCHINZEL DISPENSING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 18. 1951 ATTORNEY Dec. 9, 1958 H. L. SCHINZEL o spsusmc MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 18. 1951 INVENTOR Henry L -5 thinzel ATTORNEY Dec. 9, 1958 H. L. SCHINZEL DISPENSING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 18, 1951 INVENTOR Henry L 5 thinzel ATTORNEY Dec. 9, 1958 Filed Sept. 18, 1951 H. L. SCHINYZEL DISPENSING MACHINES 4 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 1N VENT OR Henry b-5chinze1 ATTORNEY hat DISPENSING MACHINES Henry L. Schinzel, Washington, D. C., assignor of onefourth to Richard P. Schulze, Bethesda, Md.

Application September 18, 1951, Serial No. 247,135

1 Claim. (Cl. 221-191) This invention relates to improvements in coin controlled article dispensing machines, particularly of the type adapted to dispense one of a plurality of stacked articles.

It is a general object of the invention materially to improve machines heretofore provided for the above purpose in the manner of simplicity, efficiency, durability, accessibility of parts for refill or repair, security against tampering, proof against jamming, and general facility and flexibility of operation.

Other and more particular objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed explanation taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the principles of the invention has been selected for exemplification.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of a dispensing machine constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but with the front cover in opened position to show the mounting thereon of the article storage and dispensing mechanism which appears in rear elevation;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary bottom view with the casing removed;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the machine with the casing removed;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view of one end portion of the machine as shown in Fig. 6 illustrating details of construction;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the lower portion of the machine showing in further detail the construction and operation of one of the article dispensing compartments but with the interlocking structure shown in Fig. 5 omitted;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one of the article supporting columns with its associated parts removed;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of one of the article ejector elements showing the hinged gate and operating crank attached;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary perspective detail view of the lower portion of one of the article supporting columns showing the article supporting pivot arm attached and its operation by the ejector element;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the follower member supported on top of the article stacks;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary perspective detail view of the finger pivoted adjacent the discharge mouth of one of the compartments which is adapted to release the ire 1 States Patent empty signal member when the article supply is exhausted;

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 1414 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through the upper central portion of Fig. 4 showing in greater detail the coin return control mechanism.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, the housing or. casing as shown in Figs. l3, in its preferred construction, is formed of a body shell 10 hingedly supporting at one of its forward edges 21 front cover 12 which at its free edge, in turn, hingedly supports a side cover or door 14 provided with a suitable locking means 16.

The front cover 12 carries a plate 18 displaying sample labels or other indicia to show the particular articles to be'dispensed from the various compartments and a series of ports or discharge mouths 20 are provided one for each compartment from which the articles are ejected. A plat-form 22 provided on the cover is a continuation of an interior platform later to be described and serves to receive and to support articles ejected through the ports 20. An opening 24 is formed in the cover beneath the platform 22 through which operating handles or pulls for the various compartments project. Further, the cover 12 is provided with suitable openings 26 and 30, respectively, for the coin deposit slot and the returned coin delivery pocket. A coin return handle or pull is indicated at 23.

A coin collection receptacle 32 is carried on the lower right hand floorportion of the body shell 10 and for access to the same it is merely necessary to open the side door 14 without disturbing the front cover 12.

A frame indicated in its entirety at 34 carries the article compartments and dispensing mechanism as a unit and, as a feature of the invention, the frame 34 is secured to the inner face of the cover 12 by bolts passing through the lugs 36 so that when the cover 12 is swung open the entire operating mechanism swings out of body shell 10 for refilling of the compartments or for repairs or adjustments. Thus, the casing may be secured permanently to a wall or the like without in any way interfering with the ordinary servicing of the machine.

The frame 34 is preferably formed of a pair of end plates 38 and 41 a front plate 42 and a rear and bottom plate 44. Front tie bars 46 and 48 and a rear tie bar 50 extend between and are secured to the end plates 38 and 40.

A series of column members 52 are secured to the tie bars 46, 48 and 50 for support between the end plates 38 and 40 and are further braced by an upper cross strap 54. The spaces formed between adjacent column members are compartments C for receiving the stacks of articles A to be dispensed. While eight of such columns and seven of such compartments are shown in the machine illustrated it will be understood, of course, that any other suitable number may be provided. The column members 52, as best shown in Fig. 9, are provided with vertical front and rear flanges 55 and 56 to which the front and rear tie bars are secured and carry inturned bottom flanges 58 forming a support for the lowermost article of the stack received in the compartment.

The article ejector means for each of the compartments, best shown in Figs. 8 and 10, comprises blocks 60 slidably supported upon the bottom wall 44 of the frame 34 at opposed sides of the slots 62. Hook portions 64 depend from each of the blocks 60 and are of reduced thickness to project downwardly through the slots 62 for engagement with a locking arm 66, the operation of which will be later described. Each of the blocks 60 is provided with a forward abutment 68 and each carries at its rear end an upright substantially T-shaped bar 70 to project upwardly through the space between adjacent flanges 58 so that the lateral extension 71 of the bar will operate as a follower to engage the back of the lowermost article in the compartment to eject the same from the machine.

The arrangement is such that only a single ejector means for a single compartment can be operated at the same time. To this end, a channel 61-is provided transversely of the under side of the wall 44 slidably receiving a series of lock wedges 63 which are disposed immediately in front of the hook portions 64 ofthe blocks 60. The forward ends 65 of such hook portions are tapered as shownbest in Fig. and the action is such that as a selected block is drawn forwardly to eject an article from a selected compartment the tapered forward end 65 thereof forces the adjacent wedges 63 aside to permit continued forward movement of the block, such adjacent wedges in turn sliding longitudinally of the channel 61 along with the remaining wedges to bar the forward movement of all of the remaining blocks.

For operating the ejector means as above described, each of the blocks 60 is longitudinally bored to receive the shank end of a plunger 72 each of which extends forwardly through an aperture in the frame wall 42 to terminate in a pull or handle portion 74 disposed exteriorly of the casing. As a feature of the invention,,the plungers 72. are loosely connected to the blocks 60 and a coil spring 76 is positioned in each of the bores between the enlarged shank of the plunger 72 and the attached bar 70 to absorb the shock or jarring of the ejector mechanism when the plungers 72 are roughly pulled or reciprocated, whereby to avoid one of common causes of jamming of article dispensing machines. To provide the bore for replacement or adjustment of such springs 76, the upright bars 70 are preferably removably secured to the block 60 by bolts 78 in threaded engagement with the end wall of each of the blocks adjacent to the bore opening.

As each block 60 and its article ejector '70 moves forwardly upon actuation of its knob 74, an arm 80 pivoted at one end to the block and having a pin and slot connection at its other end with gate 82 will operate to release the gate. As shown, such a gate 82 is provided at the lower dispensing end portion of each of the compartments to prevent access to the same and such gates are pivotally supported on a rod 84 extending transversely of the frame 34 immediately above the series of discharge mouths 20. The gates 82 are normally held in locked vertical position by the arms 80 when the blocks 60 are in retracted position. When the blocks 60 are urged forwardly the pin and slot connection at thejupper end of the arm will permit forward discharge movement of the article to elevate the gate to provide for passage of the article to the collection platform.

For further preventing access to the article compartments and as an aid in controlling ejection of the article, a forwardly acting leaf spring 85 depends in front ,of each discharge mouth 20 just rearwardly of the, gate 82, as best shown in Fig. 8, to permit passage of the article during its discharge motion and operable abruptly to return to mouth closing position when the article is re-' moved, thus to prevent access to the compartment even though the gate 82 is forceably held open.

-For receiving each discharged article after it passes the gate 82 and spring 85, a shelf 86 is disposed transversely of the frame between the discharge gates and the platform 22 of the cover in substantially the same plane and as a continuation of the latter. Defining the sidewalls of each discharge, month are guides 88 carried by the shelf 86, the guide'members being hollow to provide space for action of the gate operating arms 80, as best shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

Providing a support for the stack after the lowermost article has been discharged and while the ejector means is returning to normal retracted position is an arm 90 which, as shown in Figs. 8 and 11, is pivotally supported upon a lug 92 depending from the column flange 58. The arm 90, as shown, carries an offset pin 94 which projects outwardly toward the compartment. Normally, the abutment 68 of the block 60 will hold the arm 90 in the position shown in Fig. 8 with the pin out of contact with the article but when the block 60 moves forwardly in ejecting action the arm 90 will be urged by its counterbalance weight 91 into its other extreme position with the pin 94 disposed under and supporting the adjacent article until again engaged by the abutment 68 upon return motion of the block 60.

In the handling of certain types of articles it may be desirable to provide a weight or follower member 98 to rest upon the top of the article stack, as shown in Fig. 7. The weight or follower 98, as shown in detail in Fig. 12, is freely slidable between the columns which define the compartment and may carry a handle 100 for convenient lifting when the compartment is to be refilled. The follower 98 may also serve as a locking means for the compartment when the article supply is exhausted, or nearly so, and, to this end, a rearwardly extending finger 102 depends from the member 98 so that when the latter reaches the lower portion of the compartment finger 102 will fall into engagement with a cross bar 104 carried on the rear face of the article ejector bar 70 whereby to lock the ejector mechanism in retracted position.

Whether or not locking means above described is employed, it is desirable to provide a visual signal when the compartments are empty and, with this in view, drops 106 carrying indicia such as Empty or Out are slidably supported upon the inside face of the cover member 12 immediately above each of the discharge mouths 20 so that when the drops are released to fall transversely in the months the signal indicia is visible to the user. The drops 106 are supported in elevated inoperative position when articles are contained in their particular compartments by L-cranks 108 pivotally supported at the forward ends of the columns 52 each having an extended arm 109 in engagement with a laterally bent flange 110 provided on its respective signal drop 106 and normally supported in this position by the angle arm 112 which extends slightly inside the compartment in engagement with the forward ends of the articles received therein. It will be apparent that as the articles are dispensed they will slide downwardly of the arm 112 until the articles are exhausted, or nearly so, whereupon the arm 112 will swing inwardly of the compartment causing the extended arm 109 to release the drop 106 which then falls across the mouth 20.

Coming now to the coin operated mechanism for releasing the article ejector means, the locking arm or shaft to the cam 114 which keeper has a hook end urged into locking abutment with the lug 116 by the spring 122. A leg 124 carried by the cam 114 engages a roller 126 carried at the opposite end of keeper 118 counter-balancing the spring 122 so that the hook end 120 is normally elevated above the lug 116. However, unless the keeper 118 is thus held upright by other means as will be explained, a slight turning of the cam 114, as when the user attempts to actuate a plunger 72 without inserting a coin in the machine, will release the pressure of leg 124, on the roller 126 and permit the hook end 120 to be urged into engagement with the lug 116 thus locking the cam 114, the shaft 66,.the plunger 72 and its block 60 against further forward movement.

The opposed end of the locking arm or shaft 66 projects outwardly of the side wall 38 of the frame and is keyed to a ratchet member 128. As the shaft 66 is turned in a counter-clockwise direction the ratchet member 128 is turned therewith against the action of spring 129 for engagement with a pawl 130 pivotally attached to the wall 38. The pawl 130 prevents return movement of the shaft 66 until after its forward article discharging path of movement has been completed whereupon the spring 129 will abruptly force return of the parts including the ejector means of which the block 60 is a part, the cam 114 and keeper 118 to normal inactive position.

As explained above, the cam 114 may be disengaged from the keeper 118 by other means which brings us now to the coin control mechanism. A coin c inserted in the machine through the slot 26, as illustrated in Fig. 4, will ride along the track 132 carried by the coin rejecting mechanism 134, hereinafter described in detail, and will fall downwardly of the chute 136 carried by the side wall 40 immediately above the cam 114. As the coin c emerges from chute 136, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 4, it is balanced upon the lug 116 between a pin 138 projecting through a slot outwardly of the wall 40 and a pin 140 carried by the keeper 118 and projecting inwardly therefrom to ride in an adjacent slot formed in the wall 40. While in this position, the coin will bear against the pin 140 thus preventing the keeper 118 from locking with the cam 114 which then is free to turn in its article ejecting cycle. As the cam 114 turns and the supporting lug 116 for the coin is moved the coin falls downwardly against the flange 142 which directs it through the opening provided in the Wall 40 into the coin collecting box 32 at the base of the machine interiorly of the frame.

Provision is made for return of any coins deposited while the machine is in operation or if any of the moving dispensing parts should become jammed or otherwise rendered inoperative and, to this end, the cam 114, pivotally carries an upright lever arm 143 which, as the cam turns, is urged upwardly through its supporting bracket 144 intoengagement with the lower frame roller 145 of coin control mechanism 134 whereby to swing the coin run 132 on its pivot 146 outwardly of the wall 40. The coin track or run 132 is thus moved outwardly of the depos ited coin path and any deposited coins will then fall into the return coin chute 148 which has a guide flange 150 to direct such coins into the return pocket 30. Such coin return is automatic and does not depend upon actuation of the coin return plunger.

The coin return plunger or pull 28 is operable to effect the return of a deposited coin resting upon the lug 116 between the pins 138 and 1140 prior to any movement of the cam 114 or the ejector plungers 72. To this end, a spring pressed lever 152 is pivotally attached to the upper end of the wall 40 to be forced downwardly by the contacting free end of dog 154 also pivoted to the upper end of Wall 40 and having its other end pivoted to the inner extremity of coin return pull 28. A link 156 connects the lever 152 with an elongated upright crank arm 158 pivotally supported on the inside face of wall 40 and the lower end of crank arm 158 carries the afore said projecting pin 138, all as best shown in Fig. 4. It will be apparent that as the coin return pull 28 is actuated, the dog 154 will urge the lever 152 downwardly and the latter through the connecting link 156 will swing the arm 158 in a clockwise direction whereby to move the pin 138 in its slot outwardly away from the adjacent coin. With this support removed, the coin 0 will slide downwardly of the diagonal run 160 provided on the inner face of cam 114 into the coin return pocket 30.

The machine is also adapted to provide for the return of any coins deposited while the return pull 28 is in outwith a slug detecting magnet and any other safety means desired.

Any further detailed statement of the operation of the machine would merely be repetitive of the foregoing explanations from which complete operation of the ma chine should be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that the particular details of construction and arrangement of parts of the device herein illustrated and described are merely exemplary of one preferred embodiment of the invention which is intended to embrace within its purview all modified structures and arrangements which come within the scope of the following claim.

An article vending machine comprising, a housing, a hinged front closure for said housing, means carried by the interior face of said closure for supporting a column of articles, an inwardly extending shelf carried by said closure in substantial alignment with the lowermost of said articles, a platform provided on the exterior face of said closure in substantial alignment with said inwardly extending shelf, a communicating opening in said closure, discharge means carried by said closure for engaging said lowermost article and sliding the same forwardly along said shelf and through said opening upon said platform, leaf spring means depending from above said shelf in the path of movement of said article, the said spring means being operable to permit passage of the article to said platform and, upon removal of said article from said platform to return abruptly to normal position preventing access to said column from the front exterior of the machine, a gate hinged above said shelf forwardly of said leaf spring and means securing said gate to said discharge means whereby said gate is normally held in closed position to prevent access to said article from the front exterior of the machine and, upon forward actuation of said discharge means, said gate is released to provide an opening for passage of said article to said platform.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 701,358 Klepetar June 3, 1902 744,673 Balsley Nov. 17, 1903 757,993 Coleman et .al. Apr. 19, 1904 908,807 Schneider et al. Jan. 5, 1909 1,228,799 Marcopoulos June 5, 1917 1,495,015 Garcia May 20, 1924 1,572,263 Ash Feb. 9, 1926 1,582,963 Boomershine May 4, 1926 1,590,700 Roberts June 29, 1926 1,604,804 Butterfield Oct. 26, 1926 1,611,742 Hammer Dec. 21, 1926 1,766,297 Macke June 24, 1930 1,850,443 Brahy Mar. 22, 1932 1,879,884 Rowe Sept. 27, 1932 1,926,232 Gilmore Sept. 12, 1933 1,981,467 Radtke Nov. 20, 1934 2,036,921 Christmas Apr. 7, 1936 2,129,322 Hakanson Sept. 6, 1938 2,157,207 Hoban May 9, 1939 2,211,799 Tatter Aug. 20, 1940 2,230,607 Brown Feb. 4, 1941 2,231,952 Rowe et a1 Feb. 18, 1941 (Other references are following page) 3 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain of 1898 France Mar. 11, 1935 (2nd add. to'No. 732,692) Great Britain May 1, 1930 Great Britain Apr. 28, 1932 France Feb. 5, 1923 

